Product and location management via voice recognition

ABSTRACT

A system using voice recognition is provided to assist in restocking shelving while simultaneously creating an accurate product-to-location mapping of the overall environment. The creation of such a product-to-location mapping enhances many in-store tasks, such as stocking, picking, and cycle counting. The system allows store based task-management software systems to efficiently direct users to precise locations, to reduce product search time, to improve worker travel paths throughout the store to save time, and to free workers to perform other tasks. Workers use a voice-recognition restocking application to record, via voice-entry, the location where each restocked product is stored. The voice capturing of the product-to-location mapping is conducted over time to provide a seamless and sustainable way to maintain product-to-location store maps.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIORITY APPLICATION

This U.S. nonprovisional application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/096,982 for Product and Location Management via Voice Recognition (filed Dec. 26, 2014), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to an inventory-management system employing voice recognition that facilitates shelving restocking while simultaneously creating a product-to-location mapping.

BACKGROUND

In retail stores, often there are often no detailed location identifications assigned to physical shelf or storage space where products are kept. This issue is difficult to address because many retailer systems are antiquated and simply cannot support the capture and maintenance of ever-changing product-to-location mapping. Further, store branches (e.g., retail locations) within the same company may not have the same layout or carry the same stock keeping unit (SKU) mix, which renders the creation of a generic location-based product map daunting.

Without specific product-to-location mapping, consumers and retail workers have no easy way to locate a product they want to purchase, inventory count, restock, etc. This frustrates those who do not know the store's particular product layout. Consumers and workers can spend much time searching for the general area of a product even before finding the product's exact location on a shelf. Furthermore, where multiple products are to be purchased or handled, it can be difficult to create and follow an efficient path through the store to reduce walking time by searching and backtracking. For workers and consumers alike, this inefficiency costs them time and causes annoyance. For retailers paying workers, this costs productive, paid work time that might be spent doing better, value-added tasks.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a system (e.g., an inventory-management system) that enables voice recognition to assist in restocking shelving while simultaneously creating an accurate product-to-location mapping of the overall environment (e.g., a retail space). The creation of such a product-to-location mapping enhances many in-store tasks, such as stocking, picking, and cycle counting. The system allows store based task-management software systems to efficiently direct users to precise locations, to reduce product search time, to optimize worker travel paths throughout the store to save time, and to free workers to perform other tasks.

In one aspect, the invention embraces an inventory-management system that employs a voice-recognition device that (i) captures a spoken command that includes at least a portion of an inventory item's identifying indicia and (ii) transmits to a computer information about the inventory item's identifying indicia.

In another aspect, the invention embraces an inventory-management method, such as for restocking inventory items at a storage location. An exemplary method includes capturing via a voice-recognition device a spoken command that includes at least a portion of an inventory item's identifying indicia and transmitting to a computer information about the inventory item's identifying indicia.

The foregoing illustrative summary, as well as other exemplary objectives and/or advantages of the invention, and the manner in which the same are accomplished, are further explained within the following detailed description and its accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment will now be described further by way of example with reference to the following examples and figures, which are intended to be illustrative only and not limiting upon the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an exemplary work environment that enables voice recognition to assist in restocking items on shelves while simultaneously creating a product-to-location mapping in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary system workflow in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one aspect, an exemplary inventory-management system allows voice recognition to assist in restocking items 16 on shelves 17 while creating an accurate product-to-location mapping of the overall environment. This inventory-management system enhances many in-store tasks (e.g., stocking, picking, and cycle counting) by employing voice-recognition software to interface with store-based task management software systems. In doing so, the inventory-management system efficiently directs users to precise locations, reduces product search time, and improves worker travel paths throughout the store. The efficiencies gained by implementing the present inventory-management system enables worker to spend their worktime on better, value-added tasks.

Referring to the drawings, stores (e.g., retail locations) require workers 10 to shelve or otherwise place products 16 on shelves 17. In accordance with the present disclosure, in-store workers 10 using a voice-recognition restocking application can record, via voice-entry, a specific location 19 where each restocked product 16 is stored. The information can be easily conveyed in a way that makes sense for the specific context of the store environment where the product is kept. The voice capturing of the product-to-location mapping is conducted over time throughout various in-store activities so as not to affect worker productivity. This allows the workers to be leveraged into a kind of crowdsourcing that provides a seamless and sustainable way to keep track of product-to-location store maps.

After the initial product-to-location mapping is captured, the location information can be spoken to workers performing various in-store tasks, such as stocking, picking, and cycle counting, among others. Having this product-location storage information available allows store-based task-management software systems to efficiently direct users (workers or customers) to precise store locations, thereby reducing product search time. In addition, task management systems can improve, if not optimize, travel paths throughout the store. This enables workers to interleave otherwise disparate tasks into a seamless workflow.

The voice-driven system is implemented to create a voice application that manages in-store workflows. This includes, but is not limited to, shelf restocking, order picking for store shipment or on-premise pickup, cycle-counting, and checklist-based work instructions. Further, an interface facilitates interactions between customer-store systems and the voice-application system in which retail store data, product-to-location mapping, and other workflow-based data is kept and exchanged. The interface system is prepopulated with store SKU data for items arriving at the store for any expected shipments (e.g., same-day deliveries). This kind of data can be imported into a voice application to seed the restocking workflow that provides product-to-location mappings for efficient restocking.

With reference to the exemplary work environment depicted in FIG. 1, the following steps outline a basic workflow for identifying products 16 and capturing the initial product-to-location mappings to implement a representative inventory-management system. Initially, when an operator 10 starts the shelf restocking workflow, the operator, using a voice recognition device 12 (e.g., a headset), is prompted to identify the SKU 14 on the product 16 he is handling (e.g., stocking) by speaking the last few digits of the SKU 14 (as illustrated by the voice bubble 18). A voice application running on a computer 20 (e.g., a central server) checks to see if a stocking location 19 exists in the store database 21 for the SKU 14 being handled. If a stocking location 19 for the SKU exists, the operator is directed by the voice application, via the voice recognition device 12, to the mapped product location 19 a for restocking (e.g., “Aisle 1, Shelf 1, Bin 1”).

If there is not a current stocking location 19 for the SKU 14 being handled, the system speaks a description of the product to confirm a SKU product match to the operator. The operator then searches the store to find the product-stocking location himself. Once the operator indicates to the system he is at the stocking location 19 b for the SKU 14 he is handling, the system captures the location information using a dynamic checklist. The system leads the operator 10 through the location data elements that are relevant to the specific store layout and the specific SKU 14, such as the aisle 17, the side of the aisle, the section (4-foot wide modular section of shelf space), and the shelf level. The pertinent location information is then saved to the product-to-location mapping for use by the system the next time the SKU is referenced in the voice-recognition system.

In this manner, the system computer maintains the specific location context for all stocked SKUs and for all information captured on a store-by-store basis. In addition, the computer can be operated as a central server (e.g., cloud-hosted server) such that the inventory-management system is deployed in a centralized architecture instead of locally at each store location.

In an exemplary embodiment, the inventory-management system permits operators 10 to add or update saved location data if the product is kept in more than one location 19 or is moved to a new location. This can be done by manually by entering data or similar to the process implemented initially to capture an SKU location as described previously.

In another exemplary embodiment, customer interfaces are provided. Using a product's location within a store can drive value through several other uses, including customer-facing applications, and so location information can be readily leveraged by other retail applications in many non-voice related ways to help shoppers find products more easily.

While the present disclosure is illustrated in the context of a wireless headset, the disclosure embraces implementation via wireless headsets, wired headsets, worker-mounted integrated voice-recognition and hands-free scanner devices, vehicle-mounted voice recognition computing devices, and mobile-worker workstations. These various devices can be integrated through flexible connectivity of devices to facilitate the transfer of information beyond the traditional capabilities of voice software. This connectivity provides a launching point for implementing voice-enabled operations to achieve improved productivity, extendible architecture, and seamless voice-enablement of tasks and workflow execution.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying a system that employs voice recognition to dynamically create a product-to-shelf mapping for retail driven locations, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the components may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the claims.

To supplement the present disclosure, this application incorporates entirely by reference the following patents, patent application publications, and patent applications:

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In the specification and/or figures, typical embodiments of the invention have been disclosed. The present invention is not limited to such exemplary embodiments. The use of the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The figures are schematic representations and so are not necessarily drawn to scale. Unless otherwise noted, specific terms have been used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. An inventory-management system for mapping a plurality of inventory items to respective stocking locations associated with the plurality of inventory items in an environment, the inventory-management system comprising: a database for storing stocking location information comprising a stored stocking location for each inventory item of the plurality of inventory items, each inventory item associated with identifying indicia; a computer configured to communicate with the database; and a voice-recognition system comprising the computer and a voice-recognition device configured to (i) capture, from a user, a spoken command that includes at least a portion of the identifying indicia for an inventory item to be stocked and (ii) transmit, to the computer, information about at least the portion of the inventory item's identifying indicia; wherein, responsive to the spoken command, the computer is configured to: determine, if the inventory item to be stocked is already associated with stored stocking location in the computer database, transmit, to the voice-recognition device, in response to determining that the inventory item is not yet associated with the stored stocking location information in the database, instructions for the user to initiate a user-selected stocking location for the inventory item; responsive to an indication that the user is at the user-selected stocking location for the inventory item, capture, from the user, user's spoken description associating the inventory item and the identifying indicia for the inventory item with the user-selected stocking location; and storing, in the database, a mapping information comprising the user-selected stocking location and association of the stocking location information with the identifying indicia and the inventory item in the computer database; and using, the stored mapping information comprising the user-selected location, for another inventory item associated with the identifying indicia, for restocking the another inventory item.
 2. The inventory-management system according to claim 1, wherein: the computer is configured to transmit, to the voice-recognition device, in response to the computer determining that the inventory item is already associated with a stored stocking location in the computer database, instructions for stocking the inventory item at the stored stocking location; and the voice-recognition device is configured to provide to the user, by the voice-recognition device speaking to the user, the instructions for stocking the inventory item at the stored stocking location.
 3. The inventory-management system according to claim 1, wherein the inventory-management system is configured to maintain a product to stocking location mapping information for the plurality of inventory items.
 4. The inventory-management system according to claim 1, wherein the voice-recognition device comprises a headset.
 5. The inventory-management system according to claim 1, wherein the voice-recognition device is selected from the group consisting of wireless headsets, wired headsets, user-mounted integrated voice-recognition and hands-free scanner devices, vehicle mounted voice recognition computing devices and mobile user workstations.
 6. The inventory-management system according to claim 1, wherein the identifying indicia comprises a stock keeping unit (SKU).
 7. The inventory-management system according to claim 1, wherein each user who initiates the user-selected stocking location for the inventory item is a member of a crowd that is leveraged for crowdsourcing the mapping of the plurality of inventory items to their respective stocking locations.
 8. The inventory-management system according to claim 1, in response to receiving an indication from the user that the user is at the user-selected stocking location the computer is configured to capture location information associated with the user-selected stocking location using a dynamic checklist.
 9. The inventory-management system according to claim 1, wherein the computer is configured to lead the user through location data elements associated with at least one of: layout of the environment and the identifying indicia associated with the inventory item.
 10. The inventory-management system according to claim 9, wherein the location data elements associated with the identifying indicia comprises information associated with at least one of: an aisle, a section of shelf, a shelf, a level of shelf.
 11. A method for mapping a plurality of inventory items to respective stocking locations associated with the plurality of inventory items, in an environment, the method comprising: capturing via a voice-recognition system comprising a computer and a voice-recognition device, a voice input from a user that includes at least a portion of an identifying indicia corresponding to an inventory item of the plurality of inventory items; transmitting, to the computer, information about the inventory item's identifying indicia responsive to capturing the voice input from the user, the voice input captured when commencing to restock the inventory item; and responsive to receiving the information about the inventory item's identifying indicia, determining, via the computer, if the inventory item is already associated with stored stocking information in a database configured to store stocking location information comprising a stored stocking location for each inventory item of the plurality of inventory items, wherein, if the computer determines the inventory item is not yet associated in the database with the stored stocking location information, transmitting, to the voice-recognition device, instructions for the user to initiate a user-selected stocking location for the inventory item, and responsive to an indication from the user that the user is at the user-selected stocking location for the inventory item, capturing user's spoken description associating the inventory item and the identifying indicia for the inventory item with the user-selected stocking location, and storing, in the database, a mapping information comprising, the user-selected stocking location and association of the stocking location information with the identifying indicia the inventory item; and using, the stored mapping information comprising the user-selected location, for another inventory item associated with the identifying indicia, for restocking the another inventory item.
 12. The method according to claim 11, comprising: transmitting, by the computer, to the voice-recognition device, in response to the computer determining that the inventory item is already associated with stored stocking location information in the database, instructions for stocking the inventory item at the stored stocking location; and speaking, by the voice-recognition device, to the user, the instructions for stocking the inventory item at the stored stocking location.
 13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the identifying indicia comprises a stock keeping unit (SKU).
 14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising, maintaining a product-to-location mapping information for the plurality of inventory items.
 15. The method according to claim 11, wherein each user who initiates the user-selected stocking location for the inventory item is a member of a crowd that is leveraged for crowdsourcing the mapping of the plurality of inventory items to their respective stocking locations.
 16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the voice-recognition device comprises a headset communicatively coupled to the computer.
 17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the voice-recognition device is selected from the group consisting of wireless headsets, wired headsets, user-mounted integrated voice-recognition and hands-free scanner devices, vehicle mounted voice recognition computing devices and mobile user workstations.
 18. The method according to claim 11 comprising, capturing location information associated with the user-selected stocking location using a dynamic checklist, in response to receiving an indication from the user that the user is at the user-selected stocking location.
 19. The method according to claim 11 comprising, leading the user through location data elements associated with at least one of: layout of the environment and the identifying indicia associated with the inventory item and wherein the location data elements associated with the identifying indicia comprises information associated with at least one of: an aisle, a section of shelf, a shelf, a level of shelf.
 20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the location data elements associated with the identifying indicia comprises information associated with at least one of: an aisle, a section of shelf, a shelf, a level of shelf. 